Congressman deserves support for steadfast leadership on numerous animal welfare issues.
Washington D.C. — Animal Wellness Action, a national policy and political organization seeking to enhance and advance legal protections for animals, has endorsed Don Davis for re-election in the race for North Carolina’s 1st congressional district.
The group lauded his strong advocacy and leadership on numerous animal welfare issues. This term, he co-sponsored the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act (H.R. 2742) to combat illegal animal fighting and to protect North Carolina’s poultry industry from trafficked fighting birds. There have been 15 outbreaks of virulent Newcastle Disease in recent decades in the United States, and 10 have been tied to smuggled fighting birds from Mexico.
Because of these very tangible disease threats and the cruelty associated with staged fights, the United Egg Producers has also endorsed the FIGHT Act. So, too, have the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National District Attorneys’ Association, and dozens of county sheriffs throughout North Carolina, largely because they know that animal fighting crimes are bound up with narcotics trafficking, illegal immigration, money laundering, and other crimes.
Rep. Davis has also cosponsored the FDA Modernization Act 3.0 (H.R. 7248) to reduce animal testing in drug development, the Greyhound Protection Act (H.R. 3894) to end greyhound racing in the United States, the Cease Animal Research Grants Overseas (CARGO) Act (H.R. 4757) to stop taxpayer funding of animal experiments in foreign countries, the Minks in Narrowly Kept Spaces (MINKS) are Superspreaders Act (H.R. 7670) to end domestic farming of minks for their fur, and the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act (H.R. 3656) to address helicopter roundups of horses and burros.
“Don Davis knows about proper animal care and he is one of the leaders on animal welfare in the U.S. Congress,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “He understands that cruelty to animals is wrong and that it’s typically bound up with other forms of social violence.”
Pacelle expressed special appreciation for Rep. Davis’s introduction of the Snowmobiles Aren’t Weapons (SAW) Act (H.R. 9568), which seeks to protect wildlife from being intentionally crushed with motor vehicles on federal lands just for the thrill of the exercise.”
“Rep. Don Davis finds a balance between production agriculture and animal welfare, and he’s one of the lawmakers that can bring us together in the nation on animal care. We urge voters in the 1st congressional district of North Carolina to back Rep. Davis this fall,” Pacelle said.
The full endorsement letter for Rep. Davis may be viewed here.